News Release

Study Shows All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine is a Top Performer in Patient Handoffs

St. Petersburg - July 10, 2014 - All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine participated in a study on patient-care handoffs along with 22 other hospitals as an effort to improve communication, medical errors and overall patient safety during the handoff process. The Children's Hospital Association conducted the study, "Decreasing Handoff-related Care Failures in Children's Hospitals", which was published in the July issue of Pediatrics. The study highlights how the group of hospitals improved handoff-related care in many situations, including times when patients are transferred between departments or when transition of patient care occurs at a shift change.

In the study, the group of hospitals averaged 700 handoffs per month and saw a reduction of 69 percent in handoff related breakdowns. All Children's Hospital's study focused on patient handoffs between the cardiovascular operating room and cardiovascular intensive care unit. Of the 23 hospitals involved in the study, nine hospitals, including All Children's Hospital, achieved a "top performer" status for accomplishing patient handoff goals and meeting or exceeding national benchmark levels.

"All Children's Hospital's part in this study focused on a highly complex population in our cardiac units involving multiple components and team members," said Susan Collins, MBA, RN, FACHE, executive director of the Johns Hopkins All Children's Heart Institute. "Our team was proud to achieve outstanding results by creating a structured and comprehensive handoff process that saved time, decreased medication occurrences and improved communication and coordination of care among the multidisciplinary team."

The Johns Hopkins All Children's Heart Institute team used the "Ferrari Formula One" approach which assigned roles and responsibilities to care givers involved in the handoff process to help ensure patient safety through a near seamless handoff process. The "Ferrari Formula One" approach is still used throughout the hospital today and has had a positive impact on patient safety.